


Two to a harmony

by DeLowl



Category: Pentatonix
Genre: F/M, Strong Language, Vague descriptions of rape, anyone else enjoy, seriously do not read if you're a kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-13 09:03:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11756481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeLowl/pseuds/DeLowl
Summary: Lou works at a local theater in her hometown, and has gotten the privilege of being a temporary PA for a band coming to play at their theater. A job that she doesn't mind. Keep the band happy. That should be easy enough, right? That is until she seems to get struck by a certain tall dark-haired man. That seems to just slightly complicate things.





	1. PA's and a band

Pentatonix. That was the name of the band coming to play. I had heard their name before, from a few friends and seen it on youtube on various videos, but I had never been curious enough to check them out. They were playing at my workplace. Well... Sort of. The theatre I worked at owned a large building for such occasions. And I had been asked if I wanted to help out. Rather, I had been ordered to. At first, I cursed my boss for giving me a shift at such a large event, especially because it was an evening shift, and I wouldn't be home till next morning. But it wasn't all bad of course. I liked my job, and I liked my coworkers, and most importantly, someone had told me that the band was a cappella, and I liked a cappella. My job would be to make sure that the band, and their other various crew members, had everything they needed at all times. My coworker, and best friend, Haley was joining me. She, as opposed to me, had never heard of them before. And she went out of her way to make sure everyone knew that she did not particularly like a cappella.

"Who even wants to listen to a song without the instruments?" She asked loudly, as we rolled out cables for the speakers.  
"I mean-" she continued, "-the instruments just add so much to a song. Removing those is just treachery." I nodded, just to please her.  
"It's the same with instrumental music." She continued yet again, "Removing the singing just removes part of what makes music whole. I mean, who wants to listen to music that they can't sing along to?"  
"What about Psy?" I asked, "Gangnam Style was your jam back when that was still popular." She opened her mouth, but I continued, "and what about all that j-pop and k-pop you listen to in general?"  
"Yea, but you can sing along to that! You just have to learn the words." She argued.  
"And you can sing along to instrumental! You just have to learn the bloody melody." I counter argued. She sighed.  
"Okay, fair point." She was silent for a moment, while counting how many more cables we needed to lay out. Then she continued, "But instrumental doesn't have words, which means it can't convey its points in an easily decipherable manner. Maybe that's why most people don't like it." I laughed.  
"Maybe that's why you don't like it." I added. She shrugged. "A lot of people like instrumental exactly because it doesn't have words. It doesn't need words. It conveys emotions and experiences through the ambience that the music itself creates." She shrugged again.  
"Why are you even getting so defensive of instrumental anyway? It's not like you're an avid listener of it." She asked.  
"I'm just saying. You shouldn't shoot down other music. There's a reason people like it. All music has a reason to exist, and I think that the fact that you're criticising it so harshly, just shows that you've completely misunderstood the point of it." She sighed and sat down on the floor.  
"I hate when you're right." She said in a defeated tone. I sat down beside her.  
"Well, then get ready to hate me full time, 'cause I'm always right, honey." She laughed loudly.  
"Yea right!" She exclaimed. Suddenly we were interrupted by Keith. He was another coworker of ours, but I never really spoke to him much. Mainly because we never really had shifts together.  
"Hi girls." He yelled as he approached us. We waved at him. "Look," he said as he reached us, "I need a status update on the cables."  
"We still need cables to the two speakers over there, and the two speakers way down there. All in all, it's eight cables." Haley explained, pointing to where the speakers stood. Keith nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer.  
"Alright, awesome! But I might need you to get it done, like, now. We're closing down the place for the night in ten minutes. Make sure it's done by then, or you'll get locked in with the equipment." He joked. Haley however, didn't laugh.  
"Ten minutes? What time is it?"  
"Just twenty minutes past midnight. Why?" Haley didn't answer, but unlike Keith, I knew why. Haley lived in the middle of nowhere, and taking public transport to and from her home was a nightmare. But even more importantly, they didn't have night-busses, which meant that her last bus had gone home without her a long time ago. Haley looked at me.  
"Loooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu?" She asked, dragging out my name. "Can I stay at your place tonight?" She made a puppy face at me, to heighten her chances of me saying yes. I just shook my head at her.  
"The fact that you still think you have to ask astounds me." I said. The puppy face melted into a wide smile.  
"So that's a yes?"  
"Of course it is! What else am I supposed to do? Leave you to sleep here, or on the street? What kind of friend would I be if I let that happen?" I asked her. She smiled even wider.  
"You're the best." She said.  
"I know." Keith checked his wrist watch.  
"You have eight minutes to get done." He said.  
"Right, let's get to it." I said as I stood up. I reached a hand out to Haley to help her up.  
"By the way-" added Keith, "-The band's gonna be here tomorrow at 10am, so be here at 9, yea?"  
"Got it!" I yelled to him as he walked away. Haley and I looked at each other for a second, and then walked in different directions to get more cables.

~~~~~

"You look terrible." Haley whispered to me as we stood by the back entrance to the hall, waiting for the band and crew to arrive. As usual before a major event, insomnia had kicked in, which meant that I had barely slept all night. I was well aware of how terrible I looked. I could practically feel the dark circles under my eyes. It hadn't helped that from the moment we arrived, the whole place had been one big stress fest. Then we needed this, and then that wasn't quite right. Everything had to be perfect when the band arrived. Now that everything was finally right, there was only one thing to do; wait. A task which Keith seemingly found impossible. While Haley and I, and two other guys whose names I didn't know, were waiting, Keith ran around the place, checking everything again and again. The cold October air hit me, and I clutched the flimsy plastic cup of coffee I had brought with me, in search of warmth. 10am. They would be here any minute.  
"What do you think they're like?" Haley asked me. My only answer was to shrug and take a sip of coffee. I could feel the warmth in my mouth, all the way down my throat and to my stomach. It felt good.  
"Do you think they're good looking?" She asked. I shrugged again.  
"Honestly, I'd trust their talent more if they're ugly as shit." I said.  
"Why?"  
"Well, if they're famous, and ugly, you know that the fans are there because they sound good, not just because they look good."  
"I see your point."  
At that moment, a van, a bus and two black cars pulled into the personnel parking lot.  
"I'll get Keith." One of the guys said, and ran inside. The van pulled up right in front of us. The bus parked a bit further away. Out of the van stepped three men, who nodded politely to us, and then started hauling various pieces of equipment out the van. They didn't bring it inside, though. They just put in front of the van. I looked over at the bus, as the door opened. The first to come out was a tall, slender woman, with long black hair, and a long face. She was talking on the phone, and seemed rather stressed about something. The second one out was a tall man with short blonde hair. He held out his phone like he was filming with it. From this distance, it also looked like he had no eyebrows. The third one was another guy, but this one looked a lot more boyish than the last. He was wearing a gigantic brown beanie, he was slender, on the verge of being thin, but he was smiling, and waving around what I assumed to be a very expensive man-purse. Gay, I thought to myself, definitely gay. The fourth one, was yet another guy. He was african-american, and walked out of the bus with a bit more spring in his step. He seemed energetic, and his smile suggested he was quite a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He almost tackled he blonde guy in an effort to be in the video. In the same instance, the fifth person exited the bus. This one was a woman, and she was beautiful. Semi-long dark hair, which framed her face beautifully. Her face lit up in a smile when she saw the friendly fight between the blonde guy, and african-american. I couldn't help but smile with her. Behind me, Haley whistled softly. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd noticed how pretty she was. The sound of a door opening, made me turn my head away from the bus. Keith ran out and stood beside us.  
"They're here?" He gasped, sounding like he'd just run a mile. He looked a bit pale. I could practically see him go through the list of things that needed to be in order, in his head. I looked back towards the bus, and was startled to see the woman, who'd been talking on the phone, was walking hurriedly towards us. As she came closer, it was very evident that something urgent was on her mind.  
"Keith?" She asked. Keith practically jumped at the sound of his name.  
"Y-yes? Hi." He said. The woman turned her gaze toward him. At the sight of him, it seemed like her features softened a bit. Where an irritable and frustrated expression had sat before, was now an expression of worry.  
"Oh," she said, "sorry if I startled you. It's just that we have a small emergency on our hands." The change of tone got Keith to pull himself together.  
"Yes?" He asked, a bit more controlled this time.  
"We've gotten into that unfortunate situation that Kirstie's gotten-" she stopped, looking for a moment like she realised she'd forgotten something. Then she turned sharply towards the bus, and yelled; "Kirstie!"  
The sound echoed throughout the parking lot. Damn, I thought, powerful voice on that woman. The beautiful, dark-haired woman turned around to the sound of her name. The woman waved at Kirstie to get closer, and turned around to finish her sentence.  
"Kirstie's gotten a bit sick, so we need to keep her from overusing her voice. Else we might not have her voice tonight." Kirstie stopped beside the woman. She smiled at me, Haley, the two guys and Keith.  
"Hi, I'm Kirstie." She said, bringing her hand out to shake ours. I was the first to take it.  
"I'm Lou, and this is Haley." I said.  
"William." Said one of the guys behind us.  
"And I'm Lucas." Said the other. As Kirstie shook hands with all four of us, the other woman was in a passionate conversation with Keith about the night's show. Kirstie shook her head at them.  
"Her name is Esther, our manager, by the way." She waved in Esther's general direction, as she and Keith walked inside. _Esther and Kirstie_ , I said in my head, determined to remember their names.  
"So what are your parts in all this?" Asked Kirstie politely. William was the first to answer.  
"Well, I'm in sound, and Lucas is in lighting, so if any of those go wrong, we're the ones to blame." He joked. Haley slung her arm around my shoulder.  
"Lou and I are your personal slaves for the next 3 days." She chirped happily. I smiled. Well, the truth wasn't far off. Kirstie laughed too.  
"Yup!" I said, "We're the ones who get you and your fellow band members whatever you need, whenever you need it."  
"Speaking of fellow band members..." Kirstie said and looked over at the bus. I followed her gaze. The three guys stood around the doors to the bus, and it looked like they were talking to someone. Then it hit me. PENTAtonix. Kirstie had already said that Esther was their manager, so who was the last person? As I wondered, a sixth person exited the bus. The fifth and final member of Pentatonix. He was tall-ish, had black hair, combed back into a tight man-bun, his face was long, like Esther's, and had a neatly trimmed, black beard. Not too long, and not too short. All in all, he was pretty good looking. With the others, he turned and began walking towards us.  
"Finally." Kirstie said. "I don't know why it took him so long, sorry."  
"It's fine." Haley replied. "We don't mind." The guys were joking and laughing as they made their way closer to us. Then the short boy-ish one noticed Kirstie.  
"Oh my god, Kirstie, what are you still doing out here?" He asked. As he said that, another gust of wind hit me. It made me shiver. My hands grasped the plastic cup once more, only saddened to discover that the coffee was gone. I'd finished it without even noticing. The only thing left was a sad empty plastic container, which was just as cold as my own hands.  
"I am waiting for you guys to get over here, so I can introduce these lovely people to you." Kirstie replied. "This is William, who is responsible for sound, this is Lucas who's doing lighting." She pointed them out, and they each waved a short hello to the band, "and this is Haley and Louise, who -in their own words- are our personal slaves for as long as we're here." She finished. Haley and I smiled at them.  
"I'm Mitch, nice to meet you," he said to us, then turned to Kirstie, grabbing her by the shoulders and guiding her towards the door, "but we need to get your pretty butt inside, and get you warmed up." William hurried over to open the door, and he and Lucas followed them inside.  
"Yea, maybe we should continue the introductions inside, 'cause I am freezing." Haley said, and hurried towards the door too. The guys quickly followed suit, and I was the last one to leave the parking lot, just behind the tall guy with the beard. As we got to the door, he held it open for me to walk through first. So chivalry isn't completely dead, I thought, with a smile.  
"Thank you." I told him. Politeness should always be answered with politeness.  
"No problem." He said, and followed me through the door. "I'm Avi, by the way, nice to meet you." His voice was smooth, and somewhat lighter than I'd thought it would be.  
"You too." I smiled at him. Haley showed the way to the dressing rooms, while I started to explain how things were gonna be.  
"So we have three dressing rooms for ya." I said, "It would, of course, be awesome if you could all share one, but they are really not that big, so we've decided that in order for everything to work the best, you'll be divided into three groups. Kirstie will get her own dressing room, and then you guys will have to decide how to split up." I explained. "Haley and I are, as previously explained, your PA's these three days. We are responsible for your well-being, and making you feel comfortable. If anything isn't quite right, or you need something, just tell us and we'll do what we can to make it happen." I paused for a moment, thinking about how exactly to phrase the next part. "That being said-" I started slowly, "-we do expect you to treat us like human beings and not as garbage." The blonde guy seemed shocked. Avi looked at me with his brows furrowed. The african-american man halted his steps for half a second, and Mitch seemed somewhat offended that I would even suggest that such a thing could happen. _They did not take that well_ , I thought. I sighed.  
"Look, it's not because we think you were gonna treat us poorly, it's just..." I started. Haley looked at me.  
"Well..." She continued, "it's been an issue in the past." We stopped. We had reached the dressing rooms.  
"But nevermind that." I said, "now we need to sort you into the dressing rooms." I pointed to the room at the end. "That one's Kirstie's, and these two are the guys' rooms. So how do you want to split up?" I asked. The guys looked at each other for a moment.  
"Should we just do roomies?" Asked Mitch. The others nodded.  
"It seems the easiest, right?" Said the African-american.  
"Alright," I said, "I need to text that to Keith so we won't run around like confused chickens." I pulled out my phone. "I never got your names, by the way." I said to the African-american, and the blonde guy.  
"I'm Kevin, and that's Scott." The african-american said. _Kevin_ , my thoughts corrected me. _Esther, Kirstie, Avi, Mitch, Kevin and Scott_ , I cited in my head.  
"Alright, so who's with who?" I found Keith's number, and was ready to type.  
"Me, and Scott," said Mitch, "and Avi and Kevin."  
"Got it, so Mitch and Scott-" I pointed to one of the rooms, "-you go in there, and Avi and Kevin-" I pointed to the last room, "-you go in there. Is that alright?"  
"Seems fine to me." Kevin said.  
"Great, Haley could you make sure that Kirstie's got what she needs? Then I'll take care of the guys." I asked. Haley nodded, and showed Kirstie her dressing room. Meanwhile, I texted Keith.

 _Hey Keith,_  
_Scott and Mitch is in dress 2_  
_Kevin and Avi is in dress 3_  
_Kirstie got dress 1 as agreed, and Haley's looking after her._  
_Could you get someone to bring their stuff in?_  
_-Lou_

I pressed send, and walked into dress 2. Scott had sat down in the brown leather couch in one end of the room, while Mitch was looking at himself in the light-up-mirrors.  
"So-" I started, "is this alright?" I hoped they would say yes. I was way too tired to do anything major about it anyway.  
"Yea, it's fine." Said Mitch, still studying his skin intensely. Scott smiled.  
"Mitchie, this couch is not fine. This couch is amazing." He stated. "I could sleep here. In fact, I might." Mitch turned around.  
"Don't you fall asleep on me, boo, we have to check out the stage in a minute." He ordered loudly. My phone buzzed. It was Keith.

 _People are getting the band's stuff as we speak._  
_I've talked with Esther. The band has some free time now, to do what they want, but they gotta be back here at 3pm at the latest. You and Haley are babysitters until then. I expect that at least one of you is with the band at all times. Have fun._  
_-Keith_

"Don't just stand there and look at your phone, come sit down." Scott said. I whipped my head up. He was looking at me. Mitch was still at the mirror. He'd pulled out a make-up kit and was applying concealer under his eyes. I shrugged and made my way over to the couch. Scott moved a bit to make room. I sat down. The couch made a slow pffffffff-noise as air rushed out of the cushions. I sighed. The couch was really comfortable.  
"Sounds like that was needed." Scott said, smiling at me.  
"It was." I replied. My body was slowly melting into the couch. If I wasn't careful, I'd fall asleep right then and there.  
"You're name was Lou, right?" Scott asked. Mitch had moved a chair over, and was sitting on it, facing us. Looking now, I saw that he had a septum-piercing, and that Scott really didn't have eyebrows.  
"Yup, that's me." I said, "and you were Scott and Mitch, right?" I asked. They both nodded. "By the way," I continued, "Keith just texted me. You're free to do what you want until 3pm, but either me or Haley has to be with you at all times. I hope that's okay."  
"It's fine." Said Mitch.  
"The more the merrier." Said Scott. Mitch jumped out of the chair.  
"Can we go see the stage now? I want to see the stage." He asked.  
"You should all go see the stage. Let's get the others, and I'll show you." I got up, and Scott followed suit. We got out in the hall and I moved towards dress 3. I was about to knock on the door, before Mitch moved in front of me with a pfsh-like sound. He grabbed the handle, and yelled in through the door; "I hope y'all are clothed, cuz we're coming in!" Then swung the door open. Luckily, no one was naked, but Kevin jumped up with a girlish scream and covered himself as if he was. I couldn't help but laugh at the high-pitched screeching Kevin made. Avi just smiled. I noticed that he'd taken his jacket off. You could faintly see the muscles under his t-shirt. _Damn_ , I thought. I looked up, and noticed that Avi was looking at me. He'd definitely noticed my staring. I quickly looked away. _Damn!_ I thought for entirely different reasons. It didn't seem like anyone else had noticed though. Kevin was showing some new dance move or something to Mitch and Scott, but both of them seemed impatient to get moving.  
"It looks great!" Scott said, "but we actually came in here to see if you wanted to come with us to see the stage?"  
"Yes." Said Avi loudly and decidedly, "yes, I definitely want to do that." He was still looking at me. It was making me uncomfortable, but at the same time, I liked it. It was hard to explain.  
"Let's go!" Said Kevin. We all moved out the door again. Avi once again moved to hold the door for me. This time I made it a point to look him in the eyes when I said; "Thank you." That might have been a bad move. He had green eyes. For a second, foreign images of an early-autumn forest flashed in my mind. It was the same green.  
"No problem." He said and returned my gaze. I pulled my eyes from him, and followed the others. I could hear him behind me. I was very aware of his position in relation to mine. It seemed to take an eternity to get to Kirstie's room. When we finally got there, we all stood in a big clump in the door. Avi was standing right behind me. I could feel heat radiating from his body on the back of my left arm.  
"Hey Kirstie." Mitch said softly. "How are you feeling?" Kirstie had been given a small whiteboard. She quickly scribbled away.  
_I'm fine_. She drew a smiley face, and turned it towards us. We read it, and she erased it, and scribbled again.  
_Esther gave me this_. Erase, scribble.  
_Said to write, not speak_. Erase, scribble.  
_Have to rest voice, she said_. She erased a final time. Avi moved his weight from one leg to the other. I could feel the heat from his body on my back, now as well.  
"Are you well enough to come see the stage?" Kevin asked. Kirstie didn't even bother writing. She nodded fervently, and jumped to her feet, but not before wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Then she stepped adorably towards the door. I could feel Avi move again, probably to hold the door, but I hurried out, before he got the chance. Together we made our way towards the stage.

The hall was big. Very big. Even I, who'd seen it all before, was awed by the size of the hall alone. The band was floored. They ran up to the stage, and started speaking excitedly about tonight. Kirstie looked back at me and Haley and mouthed a silent "wow".  
"Yea." I replied with a smile. While the band was running around on stage, Haley and I sat down on two of the front row seats. Looking at the five people running around, smiling, laughing, suddenly made me feel like a mother who'd taken her kids to the park.  
"So," Haley started. I knew that tone. It was time to discuss our first impressions of them. "What do you think of them so far?" She asked. I knew it, I thought. I smiled.  
"I don't know, they seem nice." My eyes fell on Avi. It seemed he was singing something with Kevin, but I couldn't really hear it from this distance.  
"Kirstie's so nice! She's really awesome to talk to." Haley continued. Avi had started to dance. He was swaying his hips in a rather hypnotic fashion. Haley followed my eyes. She whistled softly.  
"Boy's got moves." She turned to me. "Think he's cute?" I thought about it for a moment, not losing sight of his movements for a second.  
"Yeah." I answered. "He's pretty good-looking."  
"I knew it. He's totally your type too." I slapped her arm.  
"Shut up." We were silent for a moment.  
"What about Scott? Or Mitch?" She asked, "They're pretty good-looking too." I snorted in a failed attempt at laughing.  
"You do realise that Mitch is gay, right?"  
"Whaaaat? A feminine guy doesn't have to be gay!" She argued.  
"Look," I started, "Scott is feminine. Mitch practically has 'gay' written on his forehead!"  
"I mean, obviously! My gay-dar isn't as good as yours, but he practically lights up like a christmas tree on my screen. That doesn't stop him from being cute, though." I pulled my eyes from Avi, and looked at Mitch. He was posing in a rather feminine fashion. She was right, though. He was cute.  
"True." I said. My gaze returned to Avi. He was looking at me again. But this time was different. It was like he was challenging me with his eyes. Challenging me to what? To keep watching him?  
"What about Scott? Do you think he's gay?" Haley asked. Avi had started moving his hips again. It wasn't sensual and hypnotic like before. Before, it felt like he was asking for attention. This time he was demanding it.  
"I don't know, actually." I said. Avi had his hands on his thighs. My hands started feeling weird. "I'm definitely getting non-straight vibes from him, but I can't tell if he's gay, pan or bi..." I trailed off. Haley wasn't paying attention to my words anymore. She had noticed where I was looking.  
"Avi's looking at you." She whispered to me.  
"Yea, no shit, Sherlock." I mumbled back. Scott ran over to Avi and seemingly whispered something to him. Avi closed his eyes and smiled at his words. Was he... Blushing?  
"Lou, calm down." Haley whispered to me. What?  
"I am calm." I said to her. Avi had stopped dancing. He shot me one last glance, as he turned to the others.  
"No you're not. Look at your hands." Haley urged. I looked down. Both my hands were clenched into tight fists. I stretched them out, and felt how my fingers cracked under the sudden change in position. My nails had left tiny halfmoons in my palm. My nails had left marks, and I hadn't even noticed. My heart was racing. Had it been doing that the whole time? Suddenly, I didn't feel so good anymore. Maybe I was just overly tired. Yea, that must've been it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt my shoulders relax. Haley pushed me with her elbow. I looked at her. She was looking past me. I followed her eyes. The band was coming down the stairs towards us. Kevin was the first to speak.  
"So we talked about going out for lunch, but Kirstie's under strict rules not to leave the place until tonight. Is there any way we can... I don't know... Smuggle her out with us or something?" He asked. I shook my head. The movement made me a little dizzy. I was definitely too tired.  
"I'm afraid not." I said, "if Esther or Keith finds out, we'll be in an ocean of trouble."  
"Why don't you guys go, and then one of us'll take care of Kristie?" Haley asked.  
"If Kirstie can't go, we'll just stay here." Scott added quickly.  
"No!"  
The sound startled us. It was Kirstie who'd said it. She looked at her friends. "Go without me. I'll be fine." She insisted.  
"But Kirstie," said Mitch, "it won't be the same without you!" He argued. But Kirstie stubbornly pulled her blanket more tightly around her shoulders.  
"Well if you're sure..." Mitch said. Kirstie nodded decidedly. I turned towards Haley.  
"You go with them. I'm too tired to go anywhere, and looking after Kirstie won't be a problem." I said, "If I'm lucky, I might even get to take a nap." I joked.  
"I'm okay with that." Haley said smiling.  
"Alright, then let's get going!" Said Kevin.  
"Actually," said Avi, "I'm gonna stay behind as well."  
"What? Why?" Asked Scott.  
"Well, I'm evening out the workload of the girls. Besides, I'm tired after the trip, so I wanted to take a nap." He said. For a moment, Scott seemed confused, but then his expression changed. Did he... Wink at Avi? Whatever he did, Avi smiled in a most peculiar way.  
"Then we'll be off, I assume." Haley said. Kevin, Mitch and Scott all nodded. They gathered their coats and left. Avi, Kirstie and I moved towards Kirstie's dressing room. Kirstie walked in first. Avi quickly got in front of me, to hold the door open. Again.  
"You know, I am able to open doors myself." I said as I walked through. He just laughed and followed me. Kirstie's room was the only one to have an armchair as well as a couch. Kirstie had already sat down in the chair, and pulled her feet up under her. I fell down into the couch with a sigh. As the cushion gave the tell-tale pfffff-sound, it almost sounded like it was sighing with me. Avi sat down, less violently, beside me. We started talking about tonight. We talked about our shared interests, and hobbies. The squeeking of Kirstie's whiteboard was calming somehow. It didn't take long before I fell asleep.


	2. A horrible memory

I don't know how long I slept, but it couldn't have been long, because Avi and Kirstie were still the only ones in the room. I knew because I could hear Avi's voice, and the squeaking of Kirstie's whiteboard. There were no other sounds in the room. My brain was still fuzzy, and begged me to go back to sleep. I didn't have the motivation to open my eyes. I was lying down on something soft and warm. My heart made small flip, when it occurred to me that it was Avi's lap. I didn't remember that I had ever moved to lie down. Then I noticed a peculiar sensation. It felt as if someone was stroking my hair. It was a nice feeling.  
_Squeak squeak squeak_. Silence.  
"Yea, me too." Avi said silently. "I'm not sure we're gonna do the show if you're not better."  
_Squeak squeak._  
"I'm dead serious. Kevin and I talked about it before. He agrees." _Squeak squeak squeak._  
"I don't know. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it." Silence. I could hear the ticking of a clock, but I didn't remember seeing one in the room.  
_Squeak squeeeeek squeak squeak._  
"Yea, didn't look like she had slept in like three days." My brain woke up a bit. Were they talking about me? _Squeak squeak._  
"I don't know, it just feels natural. Besides, I'm scared she'll wake up if I stop." They were definitely talking about me. I stirred slightly, and the hand stopped stroking my hair for a second. It was silent for a moment. After a few seconds, the hand returned and reassumed its previous motion. I sighed. _Squeak squeak squeak._  
"Because it's rude to wake up a sleeping person. I don't wanna be rude." _Squeak squeak.... Squeak_. The way she wrote felt cautious.  
"Yes, I'm aware." Came the answer after a bit.  
_Squeak squeak._  
"Yes, Scott noticed as well."  
_Squeak squeak squeak._  
"Too early to say. Who knows?"  
_Squeak squeak squeak._  
"Maybe... But not before she wakes up. Even PA's need sleep." Silence. I waited to see if they would speak more, but it seemed their chat had ended. I decided that now would be a good time to "wake up". I stirred and opened my eyes slowly. I was somewhat disappointed to feel Avi's hand disappearing from my hair.  
"Good morning." Kirstie said cheerily. Slowly, I moved my hand to point at her.  
"You shouldn't be speaking." I mumbled. I sat up. "Ugh.. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. Figuratively and literally." I said. That made them laugh.  
"You're phone's been buzzing like crazy, by the way." Avi said, and pointed to the table, where my phone lay. I stood up, and walked over and grabbed it. Behind me I could hear the squeaking of the whiteboard as Avi and Kirstie began to chat again. 3 messages from Haley. I turned to walk back to the couch, and sat down. I checked the first message.

_Yooooooo! We've gone to a place called Scott's. Guess who picked it xD do you want me to bring you anything? Like a sandwich or something?_

I smiled. I could imagine Scott wanting to go to a restaurant just because it had his name. I scrolled down and read the next message.

_Too late to choose. I've bought you a tuna sandwich._

To be fair, she knew tuna sandwiches were my favourite. She was a good friend. I scrolled down to read the last message.

_Dude, they're talking about you and Avi. I'll tell you everything when we get back!_

Okay...? Avi and Kirstie were talking about me, and now everyone else were talking about me. And Avi? I sighed. Alright. Can't really change it now. I quickly typed a message to Haley.

_Hey, sorry I haven't answered! I fell asleep, and get this, I was lying in Avi's lap! I feel super weird about it. We only just met today! He seemed to be fine with it tho, but I just don't feel entirely right about it._

I sent the message and put the phone in my pocket. I walked back to Avi and Kirstie who were still engaged in a conversation. I sat down on the couch.  
"Anything important?" Avi asked me.  
"Not really," I replied, "Haley and the others have gone to a restaurant called Scott's for lunch." Kirstie chuckled. Her laugh was cute. It made me smile.  
"What about you?" I asked them, "Do any of you need anything? Tea? Sandwiches?" Kirstie lightly shook her head and Avi just muttered a quiet "Not right now, thanks." Avi turned to me. It seemed he had something on his mind, but was unsure of how to ask.  
"There was something I was wondering.." He began.  
"Yes?"  
"Before, in the hallway, your friend... Uh, Haley, said that mistreatment had been a problem in the past..." I sighed. That story. "Were you and Haley here during that?" He finally asked. I cocked my head to the side. I didn't really want to think about it, but I wanted to tell them why we'd said as we did. If nothing else, then just to get it off my chest.  
"I was here, Haley wasn't." I started. "It's a long time ago, now, but..." I looked to the floor, trying to figure out exactly how to start. "It was back when the theatre was small and underfunded. We had this... Guy... Who was a singer and wanted to perform at our theatre. We desperately needed the money, so of course the owner accepted." Kirstie leaned forwards to listen better. "He wasn't even really well known, and he never really got famous. Anyway, me and another girl, who worked here back then, were appointed as his PA's. We were fine with it at first. He was charming and kind the first time we met him. And he gave us flowers on the first day as a thanks for wanting to be his PA's." 

_Amy turned to me as she and I both looked surprised at the bouquet of orange and red tulips He had given us. He licked his lips.  
"These flowers are but a small token of my gratitude." He said. He bowed lightly. He was a bit weird, but seemed harmless. His eyes lingered a bit longer on Amy._

"We were supposed to be his PA's for three days, just as for you, but as the first night, the concert night, moved forward he became noticeably aggravated. Perhaps it was nerves. All I know is that when next to no one turned up for his concert, he flipped. What's worse is that I didn't really receive any of it. He took all of his anger out on Amy."

_I stood outside the door, and I could hear crying. And I could hear His voice. The door was locked, and we had gotten strict orders to not disturb them. I'd already tried texting my boss about it, but it seemed he was more worried about the money, than his employees. I felt so helpless. It felt like hours before Amy finally emerged from the door. She had tear streaks down her face. Through the door, I quickly caught a glimpse of Him zipping up his pants, before the door was closed in my face. I didn't have to ask her what had happened. We didn't talk as I led her to the bathroom. We didn't talk as I cleaned up her face. We didn't talk as we sat outside, sharing a cigarette. We didn't talk as I drove her home. Her only sentence to me after she came out from the room that day was "Please stay the night. I don't want to be alone." I spent the entire night, holding her as she cried._

"This went on until he left. Amy and I became really close friends in a night. We never talked about shared interests, we never went through what normal friends do, but I was always there. With an extra shirt, and damp cloth to clean her face. I was there to comfort her, and hold her as she cried. It was a month and a half later when her mother called me. She had committed suicide."

_A foreign living room, filled with people dressed in black. Sounds of sobbing could be heard everywhere. I was sitting on a kitchen chair that had been placed opposite of a big, brown leather chair, in which her mother sat. She looked at me with sad eyes. Distant eyes. "She never spoke of you." She said. "But then again, she hardly spoke at all in the end." She looked down on her fingers. She was fidgeting with her sleeve._  
_"How did you know to contact me, then?" I asked, somewhat cautiously. As if she had expected my question, she produced a small piece of paper._  
_"I guess it's only fitting that you would get to read this as well." She said as she handed me the paper. I unfolded it and began to read._

Dear mother and father.  
I am so sorry to do this. I am so sorry to leave you behind. But I cannot do this anymore.  
I do not feel whole anymore. I do not wish to feel anymore, because all I ever feel is pain.  
What he did to me...  
Every step I take, I feel his hands. Every breath I take, I smell his cologne. And every time I blink, I see his face. I do not want to see him any more. After he left, I thought it was over.  
I was wrong.  
I went to the doctor yesterday.  
It seems he has left me with a gift.  
Mother, I know you believe that all life is sacred, but not this.... Child.  
I feel sick just writing it.  
I cannot go through an abortion, but I cannot keep the child either.  
I have chosen to take the coward's path, because I lack the strength to see beyond it.  
When you find me, I pray that I will already be dead.  
Do not worry, I will be waiting for you in the land of the unknown.  
One more thing...  
I want someone to be at my funeral.  
She'll be listed in my phone as "PA cowork"  
She was there for me even before we knew each other.  
She has been so kind to me.  
I feel it is only right that she gets the chance to say goodbye.  
Lou, from the bottom of my heart I thank you. For everything. I'm sorry I could not be strong.  
Mother, father, I love you. I will always love you. Now and after death. Be kind, be strong and be amazing. Be as I've always seen you.  
I'm so sorry.  
-Amy

_I folded the paper back up and gave it back. Tears were streaming down my face. My sight was blurry. My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking as I felt the white hot rage move through them. My whole body felt like it was burning, and I had only one thought in my head._

_I'm gonna kill him._

"After the funeral, I could only think of one thing. Revenge. I tracked him down through... Not so legal means, and decided to pay him a visit."

_It was a late night. I was wearing a dress that was way too short for my liking, but perfect for my mission. I had put every kind of thought into my outfit, my makeup and my hair. I saw him across the bar. I had been shooting him shy glances the entire night, and it seemed as if he'd finally noticed. As he made his way over, a drink in each hand, I had to do everything I could to not just run away. I reminded myself why I was doing this. Who I was doing it for. He sat down beside me, and slid the drink to me. He had evidently been drinking for a while already. I shot him a shy smile.  
"I'm sorry to just barge in like this, but you looked so lonely over here."_

_The night moved on. He eventually invited me over to his place, and I accepted. So far, so good. On the way to his place, I was forced to endure some grabbing, but I was nothing if not determined for this to go as planned. We made it back to his place. He moved in for a kiss, but that's when I decided to act. I grabbed his tie, and pulled, forcing him to bow down. I pulled him into a headlock, and pulled a particular object out of my bag. He was at this moment at my mercy. He was screaming at me, yelling what the fuck I thought I was doing. I pulled him into his bedroom, where he had a large mirror. I positioned us in front of the mirror, so he could see himself, and the object I currently had pressed against his head._  
_"You have a fucking gun, you psycho bitch?!" He screamed as he saw it._  
_"Shut up!" I yelled. He immediately shut his mouth. "You wanna know why I'm doing this?" I asked him. "You wanna know why? The 24th of June this year. Does that ring a bell?" He whimpered. "DOES THAT RING A BELL?!" I shouted._  
_"Yes! Yes! Fuck! I had a... Uh, a concert that night!" He screamed._  
_"Good boy." I growled in his ear. "One of your PA's, Amy, do you remember her? Huh? Do you remember her? Blonde hair, green eyes, really pretty." He nodded, terror painted in his face._  
_"I know what you did to her, boy, I know what you did." I breathed to him. "You killed her."_  
_"What?!" He yelled, "NO, you have the wrong guy, I didn't kill her! I didn't kill her!" He was frantic with panic now._  
_"You fucked her, right?" I asked him. He nodded weakly. "Did it feel good, little man? Did it?! Because it sure as hell didn't feel good to her! You raped her, you disgusting piece of wasted space!" I looked at him in the mirror. His eyes were reflections of pure fear._  
_"She hanged herself, ya know, she hanged herself, because you-" I pointed at him in the mirror with the gun. "-got her pregnant. After the rape, she could barely endure her own existence, but when she found out that she was pregnant with her rapist's child, it became too much for her." I threw him down to the ground, and pointed the gun at him. "I came here tonight to teach you the ultimate lesson." Seconds felt like hours. He screamed as I pulled the trigger. He screamed so loudly._

_Then the water hit his face._

_He blinked at me a few times. He was immensely confused, but still scared. He was exactly as I wanted him to be. He was listening.  
"If you feel that you have any dignity as a human being-" I started. He was still as a statue. "You admit to her parents and to the world what you did. You own up to your actions." I threw the hyper realistic water-gun at his feet. "Take this." I said, "as a reminder." I then turned around and walked home._

"He told the world what had happened, and got sentenced to 12 years in prison. I admitted to what I had done, and was fined. They did not see a reason to go further as he was not actually in a any danger, and I had not actually hurt him." As I finished my story, I realised I had cried. A lot. It seemed Kirstie had as well. She was clutching a kleenex as if her life depended on it. Avi was looking down at his feet, and his hands were tights fists, resting on his knees. It suddenly hit me. What I'd told them. I basically just told them how one of my friends killed herself, and how I, as a result, had tracked down the dude responsible, and threatened him to turn himself in. I'd threatened him for fuck's sake. The silence made me dizzy. What must they be thinking of me now? The air felt too heavy and claustrophobic. I stood up.  
"I'm sorry, I..." My hands were shaking. "I need some air." A managed to stutter out, before hastily leaving the room, grabbing my coat on the way. I half-ran towards the door, as I frantically searched my pockets for my cigarettes. When I reached the door, I slammed it open, and stepped out into the cold fresh air. I kept going till I was at the other side of the the corner of the building, and slammed my back into the cold brick wall. I pulled out my pack, and fumbled with the cigarettes. I eventually managed to fish one out of my pack and stuff it in between my lips. Now came my lighter. I fumbled even more with it, clicking and clicking it again, and yet I could not get a flame.  
"Fuck!" I exclaimed as the lighter slipped from my shaking hands, onto the ground.  
"Do you need some help with that?" Avi asked. I did not know how long he'd been here, and I did not care. He didn't give me time to answer. He bent down, picked up my lighter and clicked it on in front of me. I put my hands on his to steady myself enough to bring the cigarette to the flame. His hands were so warm and still, in complete contrast to my own shaky, cold, sweaty hands. I inhaled deeply. For a second everything stood still inside me. My muscles relaxed a little bit. My thoughts went quiet. My heart slowed down. I exhaled. The smoke whirled around my head in a dance with the wind. Avi handed me the lighter back. We stood like that for a while. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was more like a silent agreement than no words were needed right now.  
"I don't blame you if you want another PA now." I said to him. I sat down on the ground, with the wall in my back. He sat down beside me. He was silent.  
"I don't regret any of what I did back then, you know. Even if it was a bit over the top." I inhaled from my cigarette once more. We were silent for what felt like an eternity.  
"I know what it feels like to be that angry." He finally said. A cold gust of wind blew by, making the smoke from my cigarette flee from the embers, and the trees rustle, like an orchestra of nature.  
"Granted, I did not threaten somebody, but I have been angry enough to wish people dead." We were silent once more. I finished my cigarette, but I didn't wanna go inside yet. For some unknown reason, I wanted this moment to last forever. I wanted to just sit here, with Avi and my finished cigarette, till we froze to death when winter came, or till the end of time. Whichever came first. Eventually Avi turned his head to look at me. It took all my strength to gather the courage to return his gaze. We locked eyes. There it was again. That foreign glimpse of a strange late-autumn forest. It was soothing and calling for me. It was mysterious and dark. And I wanted to explore it.

"Have dinner with me."

Avi's voice tore me out of my weird day dream. What did he say? Dinner? I looked at him, in an attempt to determine whether he was serious or not. His expression was still, calm and determined. Damn. He's serious.  
"Why?" I was genuinely puzzled. How did we go from me telling one of my darkest stories, to him asking me out for dinner? What?!  
"I don't think anyone can deny that there's obvious attraction between us. You've not been the best at hiding it, and judging from Scott and Kirstie's reactions, neither have I." He paused for a bit. "And honestly," he continued "after you finished your story, I felt no different about you. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm still attracted to you. So what do you say? You, me, dinner. If it's not what we thought it'd be like, it's not a big deal. We go our separate ways, with a new experience, for better or for worse." I laughed quietly.  
"To be fair," I said, "I never tried to hide it." This made Avi smile. I thought about his suggestion for a little bit. It still didn't quite fit in my mind.  
"I still don't understand. Why do you want dinner with me? We know nothing about each other! We've known each other for what? A couple hours?"  
"Well isn't that exactly what dates are for? To get to know each other?" His answer surprised me. Not because he wasn't right, he was, but because I never considered it that way myself.  
"Yea, I guess." I said. We were silent yet again. Not an awkward silence, just... Silence.  
"Okay." My voice broke the silence suddenly, even startling myself. Avi looked at me with hopeful eyes.  
"Okay, you'll have dinner with me?" He asked.  
"Yes," I said, determination in my voice, "I'd love to have dinner with you." Avi smiled in such a boyish way, that I could not help but smile with him. "But!" I exclaimed, "not until after your concert, yea?"  
"Agreed."  
"Cool." A sudden gust of wind blew around us, and made me shiver. "Can we go inside? I'm freezing my ass off." I asked. And with that, we both stood up and walked to the door. I couldn't help but. Still be confused. I'd gone from being overly tired, to terribly sad, and then to being... Well, not happy, but happier. Avi held the door open for me, and I went inside. With all that had happened, I was still nervous, but excited about the promised date. As we walked to Kirstie's dressing room, I decided that perhaps everything was gonna be fine, no matter what happened, yet a single thought flew around my head.

_How the hell do I tell haley about what just happened?_


	3. The concert

When the others returned half an hour later, Haley and I quickly excused ourselves to the bathroom with hurried reasons of "needing to freshen up" and "women always go to the bathroom together!" which was, of course, just a complete bullshit ruse, just so that Haley and I could talk. No one really paid it any mind, except for Avi and Kirstie, who both smiled knowingly. As soon as the door slammed shut behind me, Haley gripped my sleeve, and dragged me further down the hall. It wasn't until we rounded our third corner that Haley stopped, which surprised me so much that I almost crashed straight into her.  
"Think we're far enough now?" I huffed. Haley warily looked around her.  
"I think so." She gripped my shoulders tightly, and looked me straight in the eyes, as if she was about to tell me the biggest revelation of my life.  
"While we were out, Scott, Mitch and Kevin started talking about you and Avi-"  
"Yea, I saw your message about it." I cut her off. She raised her finger, signalling me to let her finish.  
"- and they said that they were pretty sure that Avi likes you!" She smiled a big smile. I opened my mouth to say something, but Haley quickly started talking again. "Kevin said that he himself only acted like that around girls that he really like-"  
"Dude."  
"And Mitch said that Kevin likes everyone-"  
"Haley!"  
"But then Scott said that he'd asked Avi about it on the stage, and he was pretty sure that Avi blushed, which can only mean that-"   
"Avi and I are going to go on a date!" I yelled, loudly enough to snap her out of it. It worked. For a few seconds, she stood still, with an open mouth and eyes that were focused on nothing in particular. Then she slowly turned her head to look at me and blinked a few times. It almost looked comical. She would've screamed gleefully, if I hadn't shushed her before she had the chance to start.  
"You an Avi."  
"Yes."  
"On a date."  
"Correct."  
"What the hell happened while we were gone?"  
I took a deep breath and told her everything. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but it still felt like I was talking for forever. When I was done, Haley looked at me in shock.  
"You told him and he still wanted to go out with you?"  
"I KNOW!" I shouted. It still seemed unfathomable to me.  
"When is it?"  
"Sometime after the concert."  
"Where will you go?"  
"No idea."  
"What're you gonna wear?"  
"Haven't thought about it."  
"Have you thought about anything?"  
"Haven't dared."  
"Understandable." And with that, we made our way back to Kirstie's dressing room. As we swung open the door, we were met with Scott's enthusiastic voice in the middle of telling a story. Haley sat down on the floor, as she liked to do, and quickly joined in the conversation. Avi caught my eyes, and moved a bit to make room for me on the couch. I walked over and sat down beside him. He leaned back and put his arm around my shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and as we sat and laughed at Scott's story, I was just happy that he couldn't hear my heartbeat. In my ears, it sounded as frequent and as thunderous as the constant beat of a drum. We laughed and joked and told stories until the clock hit 3pm way too soon. We all walked together to the stage. The concert itself wasn't for another three hours, but they had to warm up, and do sound check and a whole array of other practical things. It soon became clear that Kirstie's voice was just fine to do the show. Haley and I just hung out backstage, waiting for someone to give us something to do, and just chatting until they did. As the three hours moved forward, the whole place became increasingly more hectic. The band retreated to their dressing rooms to change to their stage outfits. Keith was barking orders left and right, and soon, a constant murmur of excitement could be heard throughout the building. Haley and I ran from one dressing room to the other, making sure that everything was in order. Around 15 minutes before the show started, I stuck my head out from backstage, and my eyes were met with a sea of fans, all talking, some even screaming already. There were so many people that I couldn't help but feel a small stab of anxiety, even though I wasn't the one who was supposed to stand in front of them. I wondered briefly how many of these people had a crush on some of the members. I pulled my head back, and went back backstage again, where the band stood a short distance away. I leaned against the wall. The fans had begun to chant.  
Pen-ta-to-nix, pen-ta-to-nix.  
It was impressively loud. Avi walked over and stood next to me. For a minute, we just listened to the fans, chanting the name, over and over.  
"Do you ever get used to this?" I asked him.  
"Not really. It's still just as mind-blowing to me as the first time." I took the opportunity to look at him. He was looking out towards the stage, with a strange gleam in his eyes, and an unreadable facial expression. His body gave him away, though. He was shifting from one foot to the other, and he was fidgeting with his hands. My face cracked into a crooked smile.  
"Nervous?" I asked. He looked at me and grinned boyishly.  
"Terrified." He answered. We stood in silence for another minute. Finally, Kevin called out.  
"Avi! It's time." Avi looked at me as he shouted a short "be there in a bit" back to Kevin. For a second, he looked like he was debating in his own mind. Then he quickly bent down and pressed a short kiss on my lips. It was so quick, that I had no time to react.  
"For good luck." He whispered before turning on his heels and running over to the others. I just stood, completely taken aback by the kiss. The faint taste of his lips lingered on the edge of my consciousness. It tasted like the soda he'd drunk a little bit earlier, it tasted like chapstick, and it tasted like a promise. A promise of so much more. That was the taste that made my heart pound, and my head swim. As he and the other members of the band huddled together in a circle, I caught Haley's eyes. She was standing a good bit away, with her eyes and mouth opened wide, continuously shifting her gaze from me, to Avi and back again. She mouthed the words "oh my god" to me, and I mouthed back "I KNOW!"  
The circle of band members dispersed, and in a single file, they walked to the edge of the scene, each with a mic in hand, each with their earpieces safely attached, and each waiting for the lights to go down.  
Keith went to the edge to give a thumbs up to Lucas, the light-guy, and slowly, the lights died out. As the whole room went quiet with silent anticipation, the band made their way to their places on stage. Although the room was moderately quiet, there was a definite feeling of excitement in the air. The anticipation was so intense, it made my arms tingle and the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

And then they started singing.

Three voices in perfect harmony, three purple lights shining on Scott, Mitch and Kirstie respectively. The audience let out a deafening roar at the sight. Other lights turned on, shining on Kevin and Avi. I didn't know the song, but the complexity of Kevin's beatboxing took me by surprise, and when Avi hit an exceptional low note, my jaw dropped. I wasn't much of a concert goer, but I could tell that this was gonna be epic. At some point during the show, Haley had moved to stand beside me, and when Mitch started going up and up and up, only to hit a note I would've thought impossible, Haley almost shouted in my ear.  
"Holy fucking shit, how the fuck did he do that?!" I couldn't answer. I'm sure that if it had been possible, my jaw would've fallen off completely, only to be left on the floor, rattling around. The next song started, and it was a medley of different daft punk songs. And after that they sang another song, and another, and another. I knew some of them and sang along, and I just listened intently to the songs that I didn't know. Haley was as wrapped up in the show as I was, and together we stood behind the scene, with water bottles in hand for when they needed them, and enjoyed the show.

After almost 90 minutes of singing, they finished off with their version of The Bohemian Rhapsody. It was as great as the original, a beautiful tribute to the legendary band. They slowly moved off stage, waving to the screaming audience. As soon as they stepped foot backstage, Haley and I started shouting over each other.  
"Oh my god that was amazing"  
"That one note in that one song!"  
"I can't believe it, you guys were incredible!"  
"And the beatboxing, Kevin, you gotta teach me that!"  
"And holy shit them moves! How do you even move like that?!"  
"I need to know which demon you sold your soul to, to get those harmonies!"  
"Or at least what kind of spell-book contains that kind of black magic!"  
Through it all, they just laughed, and high fived each other, until Esther finally broke it up.  
"Amazing performance as always." She said, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm sorry to break this up, but you got some VIP's out back waiting for you." The whole flock started moving, and before I could even decide whether I should follow them, Avi took my hand and started pulling me with them. Haley was right behind us, no doubt keeping a close eye on everything we did, so that we could talk about it later. As soon as I was walking the same speed, Avi let go of my hand. I heard Haley make a soft sound, no doubt of disappointment.  
"So," I started, as we were walking through one of the halls, towards the back entrance, "VIP's, huh?" I saw Avi's lips twitch upwards.   
"Yeah." He said, "People who pay for a VIP ticket get to meet up with us afterwards, for a little while. They can give us gifts, and we can give autographs, and stuff like that. It's honestly the best part about the whole show."   
We reached the back entrance. It was an industrial looking, white set of double doors. As we stepped through them, we were met with the side of the parking lot that was furthest from the entrance. There stood two men in black t-shirts, presumably the guards, and about 30 people of varying ages, genders and ethnicities, all waiting in a long line. The band lined up, and Esther walked over to one of the guards. I was close enough to hear her tell him: "Two at a time." He nodded respectfully, and let the two first in.

The whole ordeal took about two hours. Haley and I had mostly just been staying in the background, trying not to be too much in the way. As soon as all 30 people had been escorted away, the band, Haley, and I all turned to go back inside. Everyone were talking about how cool their fans were, and about the gifts they'd gotten. Haley quickly jumped over to Scott and Mitch who were talking enthusiastically about a photo-album they'd gotten titled SUPERFRUIT, whatever that was. I looked around me to see Kirstie and Kevin discussing a book she'd gotten, and further behind me was Avi.

Avi looked... Off. He was wearing a leather jacket that someone had gifted him, and it suited him well. His facial expression, however, was... Odd, to put it lightly. His brows were furrowed, and he looked down into the ground, as if in deep thought, but his lips were kept in a tight, almost stiff, smile, as if he'd forgotten how to relax his mouth. I halted my steps enough to allow him to catch up to me.  
"Are you alright?" I asked softly, so the others wouldn't hear. My voice seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. The brows smoothed out, and his mouth relaxed.  
"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked.  
"Are you alright?" I repeated. He thought for a moment.  
"Yea, I'm good, I just... Got something on my mind."   
I knew better than to dig, so I said nothing.

We made our way to the dressing rooms, so that the band could change if they wanted to. Especially Mitch wanted to change into something that was a bit less "catwalk" and more "let's get drunk". Everyone more or less silently agreed that we'd go drinking after this. Haley kept talking about this place she knew on the other side of town. She'd dragged me with her a couple times, and yes it was a nice place. It was a bit pricy, but the drinks were good. After a couple minutes with small talk, Avi suddenly came over to me. He'd changed into a black t-shirt, and wore his new leather jacket.  
"Can we talk?" He asked. His tone surprised me, but I nodded, and we left the room. Unlike Hayley, Avi didn't feel the need to walk several hallways to be sure we wouldn't be interrupted. He was content with just standing outside the door, leaning up against the wall. I shoved my hands in my pockets, and stood in the middle of the hallway, facing him directly.  
"What's up?" I said, as casually as I could manage.  
"About the date..." He started. My heart sank at his tone. Avi seemed to notice, because he immediately cracked a smile.  
"Don't worry, I'm not getting cold feet. The date is definitely happening." He said, "I just wanted to clear up some details." I couldn't hold back the sigh of relief that escaped me.   
"What about the date?" I asked him.  
"Well..." He started, "we're leaving in two days, so I'm thinking that it'd be best to do it tomorrow, yea?"  
"Agreed."  
"Well, you know this town better than I do. I have no idea which places in town are good and which aren't." I was about to say something, when the door beside us suddenly slammed open to reveal Hayley's face.  
"I'm just gonna stop you right there." She said. "You are NOT just about to ask her where she wants to go for dinner." Avi looked speechless.  
"Well, I just figured-"  
"My man!" She cut him off, "it's your first date, it's gotta be all romantic and shit!" She walked fully out the door, straightened her shirt, and said "I can see that this takes some intervening from the best friend, AKA me. Lou, get your butt in the dressing room, talk to the others, stop thinking, have fun. You," she pointed at Avi, "with me. We're gonna go plan this shit." Avi looked at me with a helpless, adorably confused look. I just shrugged in reply. And with that he and Hayley were off, presumably somewhere three hallways away, so they wouldn't be interrupted. I returned to the dressing room and joined the others in chatting and joking, occasionally offering my opinions on different clothing articles. However, every second I wasn't talking, I could feel butterflies in my stomach. I dared not have high expectations for this date, but I couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement every time I thought about it.


End file.
